That the Father may be glorified in the Son

 

Mark 3:7 - 19

 

A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

“Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him.  And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him,  for he had healed many so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him.   And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”   And he strictly ordered them not to make Him known.”

Movie stars have a hard time going out in public, why is that, and did Jesus have the same issue but not for the same reason?  Movie stars and actors, they play parts in films, that’s about all they do, that’s what they trained for.  Jesus came teaching the truth of His Father, healing the sick and casting out demons.  I can’t understand why people would want to be in his presence, but for the life of me, I have no understanding why anyone would want to go listen to a person who plays the role of someone else other than in a movie.

Jesus also had other issues that the movie stars do not have, the demons were trying to reveal who He was, the only Son of God.

The Twelve Apostles

“And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.  And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.   He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);  James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,  and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they could not even eat.   And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

Jesus and His Father do not change, they are the same today as yesterday, so is it any surprise to see Jesus still calling those whom he desires to come to Him?  They came and men and women, boy and girls are still seeking the one who told us in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  He gave them authority, and it is not true that you and I also have access to such authority?  Do you recall these words; “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”  (Jerimiah 33:3)

What about these words of Jesus, “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”  It is very clear, the reason for doing so is not left to question; so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  Before you go asking for a new car, house, or wife, how is it going to glorify the Father?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice